They instead pushed it down to his lungs to clear his airways and he was then flown by helicopter to Waikato Hospital where the tack was removed in an hour-long operation.
Despite having two operations Ms Royal said Frankie was doing well and appeared to have more energy than his exhausted parents.
"It was really scary but I'm glad everything has turned out okay. The first two to three hours he came out of theatre he was tender and sore. They were giving him pain relief through the drips and stuff.
"He had a couple of sleeps and each time he woke up from the sleep he was feeling better every time. To me he hasn't cried at all.
"It's definitely given him a shock, that's for sure - given him a bit of a fright.
"It has scared him enough not to do it any more and want to tell other kids not to do it too."
By yesterday afternoon Frankie was even well enough to talk to the Herald, saying he had a very important message to share with other children: "Don't put pins in your mouth because you choke and you get sick."
Ms Royal hoped other parents would learn from their ordeal.
"I don't know where he found this one tack. I will be keeping a closer eye on him, that's for sure."
A Waikato DHB staff member said it was quite common for children to swallow various things but when they got stuck as Frankie's had, it could be deadly.
The family was also grateful to staff at Tauranga Hospital who had given them money for petrol to travel to Waikato Hospital because they had rushed out of the house in such a hurry they didn't have their wallets.
There had not been enough room in the helicopter for them to travel with Frankie but with the assistance, they had arrived before he came out of surgery.
